Customer Reviews

Jonah's Gourd Vine

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every bit as enjoyable as "Their Eyes Were Watching God," Hurston's first novel recounts the rise-and-fall trajectory of John "Buddy" Pearson from a backwoods adolescent to pillar of an all-black community to a philandering preacher. What gives her debut special resonance is that it is a wholly undisguised portrait of her family--not even the names of her siblings have been changed--and she incorporates much of the black folklore, Caribbean mysticism, and African spirituality she encountered in her scholarly research.

Hurston enviably manages to present her father and her long-suffering mother with all their strengths and weaknesses; her account is unsparingly brutal, yearningly affectionate, and remarkably nonjudgmental. (Her portrayal of her wicked, hoodoo-leaning stepmother is less even-handed; here Hurston takes the opportunity for revenge.) A sign of her achievement is that it is hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins (for example, Hurston's father died in 1917, but John Pearson's story continues through the 1920s).

Even though the story never lags, I found the representation of black Southern dialect hard-going for the first few chapters. After a while, though, you get used to the cadences and colloquialisms, and the reader's diligence is repaid tenfold. "Jonah's Gourd Vine" is one of those surprising discoveries you wished more people had read.

John Buddy Pearson's life got off to a rocky start. His stepfather resented him for his light skin and the fact that another man's blood ran through his veins, and often picked fights with him. John worked hard in the cotton fields on their sharecropping tract, but little could be done to please his stepfather.

John always longed to see what life was like "on the other side of the tracks", so after a particularly serious brawl with his stepfather, he decided to go for it. He moved across the bridge, where children went to school in their free time, and his real father, Alf Pearson, resided on his large plantation. Alf encouraged John to attend the local colored school in his spare moments, and it was here that John first lay eyes on the smart and beautiful, albeit young, Lucy Potts. John, with his high yellow skin and godlike stature, was a favorite among the ladies on the Pearson estate. However, he cast their advances aside as he pined for Lucy.

John and Lucy eventually married and moved to Eatonville, Florida, a "whole town uh nothing but colored folks", where John was called to preach the gospel, honing his already strong speaking skills. John was still a favorite with the ladies, and in a position to do so, he strayed from the mores he was supposed to uphold and engaged in illicit affairs. Thus begun the descension of our character, as his deviant ways became exposed and no longer shrouded in his notoriety.

Zora Neale Hurston's first novel, Jonah's Gourd Vine marks the beginning of a dazzling writer's craft. Peppered with the southern dialect that Hurston is so well-known for, it was, at times, a bit unclear as to what the characters were saying. I found myself saying sentences, and even paragraphs, aloud to discern their meaning. Lucy's character is particularly strong throughout the story. John's character, to me, represents both the "good guy" and later "the bad guy," as I was taken through his struggles, comeupances, and downfalls. I believe everyone should read Hurston, if only for her superb use of language and, in this case, biblical themes. Jonah's Gourd Vine is a great place to start.

Reviewed by CandaceK
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I always thought of Toni Morrison as the leader, the queen, and the matriarch of black women's fiction, but the more I read of Zora Neale Hurston, the more I feel that everyone else must have taken their cues from her!

Her writing is enchanting and thought provoking, her use of "black" language is absolutely delightful. The story and the characters are interesting in and of themselves. What makes this work really shine is the language, and the heritage and history that it preserves. She takes care to write the way that people speak, resulting a unorthodox spelling and usage that at first I had to say out loud in order to properly understand. (My grandmother didn't have to do that, though, and for that reason alone, she loved Zora Hurston.) Ms. Hurston also uses words, idioms and phrases that are unique to black america, and that my generation would likely have lost -- the news of the "Black Dispatch," "Old Hannah" rising, "hittin' a straight lick with a crooked stick." Some of the sayings I remember my Grandmother using, and some I remember using as a child. I found all of them interesting and beautiful, and I am grateful to Ms. Hurston for finding them valuable enough to put down.

I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD READ A BOOK THAT WOULD SURPASS THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD BUT THIS IS COMING MIGHTY CLOSE!! SOME MAY BE PUT OFF BY HURSTON'S METHOD OF SHOWING DIALOGUE BETWEEN HER CHARACTERS BUT IT FORCES YOU TO SLOW DOWN AND SAVOR THE ESSENCE OF THE STORY. BELIEVE ME, IT IS WORTH THE EFFORT. HER CHOICES OF WORDS AND HER CATCHY PHRASES MAKE HER WORTHY OF ALL THE PRAISE THAT SHE HAS RECEIVED.

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:5-11

Hurston's first novel, published in 1934, is a fictionalized account of the lives of her parents set in the post-Reconstruction South to the years that followed the First World War. The title refers to the Biblical prophet, who cared more about the death of the gourd vine that sheltered him from the sun than the people of the nearby town of Nineveh, who were at risk of annihilation at the hand of God.

John Crittenden is born out of wedlock in post-Reconstruction Alabama to Amy, who later marries Ned, a sharecropper and embittered former slave who constantly butts heads with the strapping "high yaller" boy who isn't his own. Weary of the abuse and threats of his stepfather, John travels to a nearby farm to work, and meets Lucy, a younger girl who he falls in love with and ultimately marries. However, John is a strong and handsome man who is desired by many women, and he takes full advantage of this, to the detriment of his wives and young children. The aftermath of one affair nearly lands him on a chain gang, and he escapes to Florida, where he eventually moves to Eatonville, one of the first all-black towns in the Deep South. After working as a carpenter and sending for his family he eventually becomes a gifted preacher, who is in high demand in neighboring towns. However, he has not lost his taste for the flesh despite his love of the Spirit, and the problems that caused him to flee Alabama come to haunt him and his family in Florida.

I enjoyed this debut effort by Hurston, with its rich characters and compelling story.

This is at the top of my must reads for my daughter. The lessons of life were all through the book. The main character John reminded me of many men I see today. The subject matters are so true for all that happens today. This is a book that will always have a part in the world we live in. The only problem some may have is it's written in deep southern dialect with even more deep south saying. I'd love to see this as a movie.....Classic!

This was a very interesting story, I enjoyed this book better than Their Eyes Were Watching God, and that says alot. The story of John Buddy is a turnpager and you will not be disappointed. The best I've read in a long time.

I loved this story. The story is so true to life for many women who are with men, who don't seem to be able to get it together, unless there is a woman making it happen.

The husband is a great orator, but isn't the kind of man he should be. His wife is his long suffering mate. I just love Zora's use of black dialet. It is so beautiful.

When I read the following excerpt, it felt like something hit me in the head. I was moved beyond words. It goes something like this: "Ah done been in sorrows kitchen, and ah done licked out all the pots; ah done died in grief and been buried in de bitter waters. Ah done rose from the dead lak Lazarus. Nothing can touch mah soul no mo!"

I highly recomment it.

A truly wonderful book. I enjoyed this book as much, if not more, than Zora's more popular "Their Eyes Were Watching God". I would highly recommend this to all.

This book was needed quick for a college class - thanks for making it easily accessible without having to leave the house to search for it.